Pink Steel Chain
by chiriruoni
Summary: Dear Self, I wish to tell you something, though you may never hear me. You are not alone, and never will be. Beyond these chains and across the void, I wish to reach out to you, to hold you close and comfort you. Yet, it cannot be. So instead let me guide you and protect you from afar. Let me shoulder the burden of worry and pain, if only a little bit. With Love, Your Other Self


A/N: Well, here is another one-shot that may see a continuation in the future. I never understood why a Black Rock Shooter fic, crossover or not, had to involve Mato and Rock, when in reality the very concept of the series allowed for so much freedom. So here I go, giving it a try. Characters from the actual BRS series will not at any point make an appearance or even be mentioned here, since the very concept of BRS revolves around the "Other Selves" and the interplay between the "Real Self" and their "Other Self" as well as the dynamics between people and relationships. Given how much pressure and grief a lot of characters in the FoZ universe have, it'd be no wonder than they'd have "other selves", and given the setting the "other selves" themselves would be under undue burden, being a world of magic and all.

* * *

 **A tattered gown was all she wore as she hung by the tangle of chains that pulled at her limbs, anchored somewhere in the blackness. Her face was haggard, with heavy bags under blank red eyes. Her pale pink hair was unkept and faded just as her skin had. Just as though malnourishment and inactivity claimed her features. She weakly clenched her fists and scrunched her toes, testing her bindings. They were unyielding, only accentuating the feelings of weakness in her muscles and bones.**

 **Weak.**

 **The steel of the chains sapped her strength while the inky black void served to deaden her resolve. They were her shackles and her prison cell.**

 **She could feel** Her **falter as well. It was for** Her **she existed in the first place. It was to ease** Her **burden that she found purpose. Yet, she was powerless, hindered by steel and oppressed by the dark void that surrounded.**

 **She could feel it all. Every physical and emotional pain** She **felt. Every snide comment, mocking stare, 'accidental' fall as** She **passed in the hallway. She couldn't aid** Her **, captive as she was.**

 **A captive audience to a cruel play, aching and yearning to shoulder at least part of** Her **torment and ease** Her **pain.**

Louise shifted nervously from one foot to the other. Anxious at the coming catastrophe.

 _'Oh, Brimir help me. Why'd Kirche have to get THAT thing. A rare breed of Salamander, go figure. And Tabitha! A damned dragon of all things! I'm doomed! Why'd I have to go off boasting to Kirche...,'_ she grit her teeth, remembering the previous day.

Now she could only hope Professor Colbert would overlook her. Something which would allow her to 'make up' the class...preferably in relative privacy, to preserve what pride she had left.

"Has everyone gone? We haven't missed anyone have we?" The kind Professor wiped sweat from his baldness. The heat of the noon day sun was starting to become stifling. Moreso for the girl on the cusp of a panic attack.

Louise dared to have a little bit of hope that no one would remember her.

"Professor! Louise hasn't gone yet~!" A certain annoying redhead chimed in cheerfully.

 _'Damn you, Kirche!'_ Louise's heart sank.

Colbert motioned for Louise to step forward to the summoning circle.

"Come now, Louise. Let's not keep the class waiting. You're the last one, I have faith in you," Colbert lighlty patted the girl on her shoulder.

The encouragement fell upon deaf ears as Louise cursed her rival and the Professor's lack of tactful understanding.

 **Futile, worthless, terror, failure, pain... words and feelings** She **allowed to consume** Her **mind came as a flood to her.**

 _ **'No...no...no...,'**_ **she pulled against her restraints, the desire to pull** Her **away from it all was all consuming.**

Sucking in a deep breath, Louise attempted to calm herself. No matter what mantra she repeated to herself, or exercise practiced, or delusion she tried to believe, her heart and mind raced with hundreds of possibilities for her current predicament's resolution. Each more humiliating and painful than the last

 **Humiliation...pain...**

Tears threatened to well up in her eyes as she adjusted her stance before the summoning circle. She was confident in her ability to perform the rite. The execution of all her spells have always been flawless...but the results...

The jeering and barely hidden giggles of her peers around her certainly didn't help matters. She hated their stares, as though they simply expected and actually looked forward to her failure. It made her sick to her stomach, so much so it hurt.

 **Hate...sick...hurt...PAIN...**

 **She struggled against the chains. The steel forever unyielding, a testament to the strength of her jailer.**

"Louise, we haven't all day," impatience laced Colbert's words, yet at the same time his eyes shown deep worry.

The girl, a young woman by all rights, weighed her options. Would she give her tormentors what they wanted, the spectacular failure that seemed inevitable? Or would she simply walk away? Either option signaled the end of her career as a mage, and most likely that of a true noble as well. The uncertainty pained her to no end. She feared both choices equally, as they both left her pride shattered.

 **PAIN...**

She lifted her arms above the circle, wand in one and the other open, palm down.

 **She struggled against the chains , more fierce and desperate than ever...**

Louise gathered her willpower, channeling it through her body and into her wand. She prepared herself to transfer it to the circle, going over the incantation in her mind that would facilitate it.

 **She wanted to scream, to stop whatever pained** Her **and lash out at the source and cause. She thrashed against her bindings and stared defiantly into the void, a weak growl echoing from her throat.**

"I, Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere...," Louise closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat.

 **Her fevered thrashing rattled the chains. She produced weak, squeaky screams, not having the breath to truly protest out loud.**

"...in the name of the great Five Pentagon Powers...," she squeezed her eyes shut.

 **The void seems to pulse around her. She ceased her struggles to focus on the darkness, eyes wide in anticipation.**

"...following my fate...," her lower lip trembled.

 **She felt a link in the chain begin to buckle as the darkness coalesced before her.**

 _ **'What? What is this?'**_

"...and bring forth...,"tears started to flow down her cheeks.

 **Her eyes went wide as the chain holding her left leg went slack, a loud and echoing clang in the distance being evidence enough to know the leg was no longer truly bound. And then the one on her right followed suit. Finally, with a weak tug, the chains holding her aloft by her arms also gave way. She fell to the ground with a light thump, the chains sliding slowly down her shoulders and arms, into her hands.**

 **She stared in disbelieve at the vast lengths of chain she held.**

"...my ...familiar!" Louise choked out the final words as she released her willpower into the circle.

 **The blackness of the void seemed to condense before her into a massive oval, the space surrounding her now a blinding white emptiness. The oval shimmered green even as it seemed to suck up the light around it in a dark aura.**

 _ **'Is...this** Her **doing?'**_

 **She slowly shook her head. It wasn't** Her **power alone that did this. Through** Her **memories and knowledge, she realized just what this was.**

 _ **'My captor turned liberator...a musket ball to his own foot so to say...,'**_ **she grinned.**

Louise dropped to her knees as her willpower flowed away from her and braced herself for the inevitable.

 **With chains draped over her shoulders like a shawl and still wrapped loosely arms, legs, and waist, she shuffled slowly to the condensed void. She could feel the calling radiating from it, a relentless drumming in the back of the mind that told her to walk through it.**

 _ **'Is it stupid?'**_

 **She couldn't be what it was trying to make her. Though she wouldn't mind, it wasn't the fact that it was, for a large part, responsible for her current state that kept her from accepting the calling. Feeling the opportunity too great to pass up, she decided to step through anyway, even though nothing would come of it in the long run.**

 **Then again, the calling signaled her freedom...and** She **had been the one to bend the void's will in this direction. She picked up the pace, the chains clinking with each step, once more plunging into darkness before being engulfed in a bright and relentless light.**

A massive explosion rocked the summoning grounds, sending many students tumbling back and bracing themselves against each other in support. Louise herself was sent rolling several feet back where she now rested on her back, coughing and whimpering in pain.

The inevitable finally happened, the spectacular failure everyone waiting for. Louise drawn herself up to her knees, sitting on her feet. Staring mournfully into the dense smoke cloud, sure that nothing was contained within. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked down to her hands, she had lost her wand at some point during her tumble. She could scarcely hear the complaints, mocking cries, and insults directed her way. She never noticed the Professor's attempt at bringing order, nor did she notice her rival's worried silence with her hands clasped to her mouth as if to stifle a cry. She had only noticed the hands before her that seemed to produce nothing.

And so she began to cry. A mournful wail that spoke volumes of her believed future. For a moment there was only an odd silence, save for Louise, as everyone seen for the first time the facade broken.

But then there was a crisp jingle of metal on metal and the crunch of dirt being moved aside. Louise ceased her wail, reducing it to sniffles and hiccups. Through vision hindered by smoke and tears, she was the first to see the thing that stumbled out of the smoke towards her.

Not only was she surprised at having summoned anything, but what she summoned ground all thoughts to a halt.

It was as though she was looking into a mirror that reflected the greatest fears of the one it reflected. Before her stood a girl who couldn't be any older than herself, that looked as though she would be her twin. Her clothes were tattered and worn and a multitude of chains clung to her figure.

The silence was no longer as murmurs were abound, things about summoning a commoner criminal, a doppelganger, or some family ghost buzzed about the students. She heard none of it. She could only feel a strange sense of relief, as if a massive weight had been removed from her shoulders.

So she began to cry again, slumped back with her arms to her side now. The summoned girl looked around, dead eyes sparking to life in curiosity. Her eyes passing over each student in turn before coming back to Louise where the expression more fitting of Tabitha melted to one of fondness for a loved one.

 _ **'Such colors...it's nearly blinding, but pleasant in it's own way. Though the greatest shade sits before me.'**_

Between her sobs, Louise managed to whisper so as none could hear,

"I'm not alone..."

Her eyes bolted open when a great weight was thrown around her. It was warm, despite the great amounts of metal that was between and around them. The 'other Louise' had dropped to her knees and embrace her.

" **Never were...never will be,"** The 'other' pressed her forehead to Louise's, tired eyes meeting her own.

Louise hesitated a moment in uncertainty, but found her own arms wrapping around 'herself'. Tears still flowed, yet she didn't truly cry. And then there was no resistance to her grasp...the girl was gone.

 **She found herself in a grand landscape of rolling hills oddly constructed of cobbled stone. Strangely beautiful in construction, as each stone seemed to be unique of cut and color. No longer was she trapped within a void, her chains only vestigial reminder of her old prison. Wrapping a hand around a single length of chain, she twirled it to her side in idle amusement. Beneath tired eyes a smile formed. She started to walk, though it was more like a shuffle under the weight of the chains, alternating between the scrape and clang of metal and the soft pat of her bare feet. Still swinging the chain, she pondered in relative silence.**

 **It was only a short time, but she had seem many colors. She had met the one she loved greatest in person. The corridor was open,** She **only needed to call and she'd be there to aid** Her **in any way she could. But for now she had much work to do. There were others she seen during that short time. Other prisoners, some long subdued and others raging in their confines. If she were to show her most beloved that there was more to life than misery, she indeed had much work to do. So she walked, confident that she'd find her destination soon enough. She was confident that a veritable rainbow would be formed, the sky already a faint pink hue. She wondered, would it be the faded blue or the vibrant crimson that would first be free?**

* * *

From the nearby tower, Siesta had set down her pail and rags she had been using to clean the various decorations lining the hallway. The second-year students seemed to be almost done with the summoning rite that was mandatory for all mages. In her boredom she simply observed all the odd creatures the many nobles had summoned throughout the morning. From the mundane cats and dogs to the weird bugbear and the majestic dragon. She almost lost herself in a bout of daydreaming, wondering what she would have summoned if she herself had been born a mage.

The event seemed to be winding down to a close as the final student stepped forward. It was Ms. Valliere, one of the few nobles she had encountered that didn't outright scorn the presence of commoners and rarely if ever commanded the unreasonable of them.

She wondered what she would summon, after all, Valliere seemed to never have favorable results in her spells. Which was a shame, since if there was a noble Siesta would have wanted to serve it'd be one from the Valliere family. Overall they had prided themselves in being fair and just...well save for the eldest daughter who had a reputation for being an absolute bitch...though that could just be rumors. An explosion from the field startled Siesta, causing her to stumble back over her pail. Quietly cursing her fortune as she pulled herself from the floor, dripping in dirty water, she looked once more out the window to see the young Valliere on her knees before...herself? As odd a sight it was, Siesta felt a tightness in her chest that seemed completely unrelated. And then the clone ceased to be and it seemed that unknown flood gates were broken and Siesta felt the need to escape to her quarters, a feeling she indulged.

She remained in her confines the remainder of the day, unable to leave without the foreign waves of emotion flooding her mind and heart. Yet, when all was said and done, she felt immensely better the following morning.

* * *

When Kirche recovered from the concussive force of Louise's explosion, she could nearly hear the hopes of the pinkette shatter like fine porcelain against hard stone floor. It was true that the Valliere scion was her rival, but rivalry didn't mean hatred, no matter what the quick to anger girl said to her. She was about to step forward in Louise's defense when the girl in question began a heartbreaking cry that stunned her peers into silence.

It was weird to see someone that seemed so headstrong, so prideful, brought so low. For all her faults, Kirche didn't believe Louise deserved this. And then the ghastly figure stepped from the smoke, draped in chains and tattered cloth. The cruel among the crowd had immediately begun to feast upon easy prey, just as Kirche ceased all movement and paled as the figure's eyes passed over her. It felt as though the piercing glare had penetrated deep within her very soul.

The jeers and taunts continued, yet Kirche could only wonder why it was they did not see the being for what it was. Kirche shivered as she compared the visage of the summoned to that of the summoner. The resemblance wasn't so much a resemblance as it was a near perfect copy. Her eyes widened as the identical duo embraced and then the summoned disappeared into motes of light, leaving Louise and Kirche sharing a feeling liberation as tears begun to flow freely for both. Yet for the latter, she didn't know why.

"Tabitha...I think we shou-," Kirche turned to address her taciturn partner, only to find her and her dragon long gone.

Confused at her friend's sudden disappearance, she turned her attention once more to Louise. Colbert had already dismissed the class, in a panicked hurry no less. Having failed to rouse Louise from her stupor, he too left soon after.

Only Kirche remained, her sight locked upon the pink haired girl. Her heart ached for reasons completely hidden to her, and the urge to reach out to Louise grew with every passing second. It didn't take long for her to succumb to the urge. Having made her was to Louise's side, Kirche gently grasped her shoulder. Louise nearly jumped at the touch, bringing her unfocused bloodshot eyes up to Kirche's face. Unspoken words were communicated, and decisions reached.

Louise finally stood, brushing off the dirt from her skirt and kneesocks. Without a single word, she began the somber walk back to the dorms, with Kirche only a few steps behind. The sun had already begun to set, an entire day spent in introspection. The following days would be trying for the Valliere scion, Kirche knew that and resolved to be there in stalwart support...why? She didn't know, and frankly, didn't give a damn anymore.

* * *

Only the light of the twin moons illuminated Tabitha's hiding spot atop the academy roof. For hours she had lain there in the fetal position, alternating between subdued sobbing and anxiety that threatened to cause hyperventilation. The dragon she had summoned earlier that day had curled itself around her protectively, cooing in sad confusion, not understanding why it's summoner was in this state. In all honesty, Tabitha herself had no idea as to the source of her crippling break in character.

Though that wasn't really true, she knew when it all started. It started as soon **She** stepped from the cloud of smoke and laid **Her** eyes upon herself. It was then that the uncontrollable surge of sorrow forced Tabitha to make a hasty retreat. It felt that something had awakened deep within her subconscious. Something that cried out to be addressed. But Tabitha had no idea what to do...except cry...


End file.
